Cyberbullying in Early Adolescence: Is There a Difference Between Urban and Rural Environment?

Abstract

ntroduction: Thanks to the availability and possibilities of modern communication technology, new paths of violence have been discovered, which we call cyber bullying. Cyber bullying today represents a serious public health problem. Study goal: To investigate the frequency of internet and cell phone use among urban and rural children and show the extent of bullying among children from 12 to 14 via Internet and mobile phones. Study design: A cross-sectional study. Subjects and methodology: Survey included 1295 children from Brodsko-Posavska County. The respondents were students of the sixth, seventh and eighth grade of elementary schools from 12 to 14 years. An anonymous questionnaire related to the children’s experience in using the Internet and mobile phones was used. Results: Internet uses 93.4% of respondents, of which 59.8% use the internet on a daily basis. 87.9% respondents had internet communication. Even 8% of respondents experienced putting photos on the internet with unpleasant comments. Personal cell phone has 90.1% of children. 8.3% of respondents received disturbing and threatening messages via mobile phones. Pornographic or sexual content on the mobile phone was received by 9.3% of respondents while 15.8% of respondents photographed or recorded peers in a fight or some other violent behavior. Conclusion: Research shows the existence of peer violence through the internet and mobile phones. This fact points to the need for prevention that involves systematic education of children, parents and all who work in contact with children.